to get cross at this

[needmorecoffee]

my eldest lives with the wealthy in-laws. She's 16. They want us to claim EMA for her based on our income cos our income is under 20K so we qualify but there's is way over 30K so they don't.
Surely that money is for poor families?
And they are demanding various P60's that we have lost to fill in the damn forms.
We already give them the Child benefit.

parental responsibility has nothing to do with EMA.

dunt matter mabana. I'm off.
When someone says I should be grateful and commit fraud for wealthy in-laws I;m in a weird place.

I think the person who said NMC should be grateful to her inlaws. should read the whole thread.
if they did they would have read NMC's post where she has said what they have said her baout her dd2.
I think imo NMC has been good even alowing these people to share the same air as her. if someone said that about my disabled dd. I would never speak to them again.

Fraud NMC

and knowing the abckground of why she is living with inlaws etc etc etc and that it is not your fault I especially wuldn't get involvd

Tell them they either tell her to come home (!) or you will ut their details on form

Reading this I have actually realised how unfair the EMA is actually.
I am a single parent exdp earns upwards of £52K a year and is very generous with it to me and the children yet based on my income the dc's would be entitled to the £30 a week which exdp would be able to and more than willing to pay to them should they stay on at school. Yet looking back to before exdp got this job we would have been over the earning threshold (but only just at that time) and would never in a million years been able to pay £30 to the children.

NMC, I think you are absolutely right it is fraud ... and I don't think your in-laws have the faintest idea what they are risking here. Last I heard the IR had far more overreaching powers to break and enter your property and search without a warrant than the police. Once they have a sniff that your affairs are not in order they will go through your returns for the last n years with a fine tooth comb. By the sounds of it the inlaws sail a bit close to the wind with their tax affairs anyway - this sounds like the sort of game that could alert the authorities and lead to investigations and months of explanations. I know DH just had some options come good and they were all over him like a rash.

Plus - don't know how old they are but this is always at the forefront of my parents' minds and has been for some years - should one of them pop their clogs, heaven forfend, the tax man will be going back through the last 7 years or whatever anyway, looking for any sign of irregularity before the estate is settled. Which I guess could tie up funds and leave things very difficult for the survivor. My father is scrupulous to the point of paranoia about leaving a paper trail that they cannot dispute to show that every single step was kosher taxwise. (He's forcing me to do it too ... though as yet has not persuaded me to keep my P60s! I mean ... who does that??)

Really don't think the outlaws have thought through the risk/reward of this little scheme. So without going into the rights and wrongs of who looks after who and the obligations of that (you know where I stand on that one, hun) on the practicalities alone I think you are right.

Needmore - Didnt realise that GP's were actually claiming benefit for your DD. I thought you were just giving it to them as part payment for you DD's upkeep.

To claim benefit they do not have to be the parent, but they MUST be responsible for the child.

To claim EMA you MUST have parental responsibility page 3 Hope link works

Needmore...Travel Passes are issued to 16yrs and above from your LEA.
There is a yearly charge of £25.

The students union should be able to let you know for sure....good luck!

'Once they have a sniff that your affairs are not in order they will go through your returns for the last n years with a fine tooth comb'

used to work for office now in control of IR.

God they are pedantic bastards when they wish to be! IME they hire the most weasley little people with huge chips on their shoulders who will happily spend their last breath pursuing someone for every tiniest misdemeanor once they've been annoyed.

Cross at coat!

Needmore - They might be claiming financial responsibility for DD, but unless GPs have PR legally they do not have a say in ANY decision about your DD.

This is where it gets tricky, even though your DD lives there and they assume financial responsibility, they havent obtained legal security for the arrangement and therefore do not have parental responsibility.

So by law, your parental responsibility doesnt end until it is legally passed to someone else, no matter what informal arrangements have been made.

Good luck!

hear hear jammi - great post

well said jammi. very true